States Grants Act 1953

States Grants Act 1953

This is a short, one-off financial law that authorises the Commonwealth (federal) government to hand money to three Australian states that were considered to need extra financial support.

What does it do? It directs the Commonwealth to pay a total of £15,400,000 (fifteen million, four hundred thousand pounds) to South Australia, Western Australia, and Tasmania as "financial assistance" — essentially a top-up grant from the federal government to help those states fund their activities.

Who gets what?

• 🏛️ South Australia — £6,100,000
• 🏛️ Western Australia — £7,800,000
• 🏛️ Tasmania — £1,500,000

Where does the money come from? The funds are drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund (the Commonwealth's main pool of money collected through taxes and other revenue). The Act itself acts as the legal authorisation (called an "appropriation") to spend that money — without this Act, the government would not be legally permitted to make these payments.

Who does it affect? Directly, the three named states. Indirectly, the residents of those states, who benefit from the additional funding available to their state governments.

Why does it matter? Under Australia's federal system, the Commonwealth collects most of the tax revenue, but the states are responsible for delivering many services. These "grants" are a mechanism to redistribute Commonwealth funds to states that may not generate sufficient revenue on their own — a practice that continues today in various forms. This Act covers payments for the financial year that began only; it is a single-year, fixed-amount grant.